NewEdge Advisors LLC Purchases 6,690 Shares of Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY)

NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mercury General Co. (NYSE:MCY - Free Report) by 2,230.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 6,990 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 6,690 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC's holdings in Mercury General were worth $465,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MCY. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Mercury General by 145.1% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 554 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 328 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Mercury General in the 4th quarter worth $44,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Mercury General by 772.9% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 742 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 657 shares during the last quarter. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Mercury General during the fourth quarter valued at $60,000. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Mercury General in the 4th quarter worth about $68,000. 42.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Mercury General Stock Performance

MCY stock traded up $2.04 during trading on Friday, reaching $57.40. The stock had a trading volume of 349,813 shares, compared to its average volume of 398,020. The stock's 50 day moving average is $54.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $60.62. The firm has a market cap of $3.18 billion, a PE ratio of 6.79 and a beta of 0.90. Mercury General Co. has a 52 week low of $44.19 and a 52 week high of $80.72. The company has a current ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Mercury General (NYSE:MCY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The insurance provider reported $2.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.84. Mercury General had a net margin of 8.55% and a return on equity of 22.54%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Mercury General Co. will post -0.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Mercury General Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th were issued a $0.3175 dividend. This is a boost from Mercury General's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. Mercury General's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCY has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Raymond James upgraded shares of Mercury General from an "outperform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and upped their target price for the company from $70.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. StockNews.com cut shares of Mercury General from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th.

Mercury General Company Profile

Mercury General Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in writing personal automobile insurance in the United States. The company also writes homeowners, commercial automobile, commercial property, mechanical protection, and umbrella insurance products. Its automobile insurance products include collision, property damage, bodily injury, comprehensive, personal injury protection, underinsured and uninsured motorist, and other hazards; and homeowners insurance products comprise dwelling, liability, personal property, and other coverages.